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“ The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Anzac Biscuits for school fair

My boy's school held its annual school fair last Saturday, and I was asked to contribute some baked goods for the Western Stall. I decided to contribute an Aussie item, the Anzac biscuits, to introduce it to people in Hong Kong (locals and non-Aussie expats) who have not encountered it before. It is said that these biscuits originated around the time of World War I, when wives, girlfriends, mothers and children would bake nutritious biscuits and send them in food parcels to the Australian troops overseas. The biscuits were first called the Soldiers' Biscuits, but people started calling them Anzac Biscuits after the landing on Gallipoli, in honour of the brave fighting soldiers, the ANZACS (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps). There are no eggs in Anzac biscuits because eggs were scarce during the war, and this also meant that the biscuits would remain edible for long periods of time. I chose a well-reviewed recipe on taste.com.au, and I stayed relatively true to the recipe, resisting the urge to reduce the sugar. The resulting biscuits were too sweet for me, however I have a more sensitive tastebuds than most people, and hubby said that my biscuits were just the right amount of sweet. I baked two batches, and it all sold out, evidence that the recipe is good for the masses. I used wholewheat flour because that was what I had in my pantry, and it worked fine - the biscuits are quite textured with the rolled oats anyway, so the wholewheat flour barely made a difference.

Anzac biccies all packed and ready for sale:

I also baked a batch of brownies, because brownies are always popular, and it was one of the first items to sold out at the stall:

The Western Stall set up at the school fair. There were also other stalls selling Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Filipino food, representing the different nationalities of the students in the school. The stalls were organised by the PTA and food donated by parents. There was also a pizza stall with pizzas provided by an actual pizza shop. The fair was a success:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Combine flour, oats, coconut and sugar in a large bowl.
3. Stir the butter, golden syrup and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the
mixture is smooth. Stir in the baking powder. Add to the oat mixture and stir until well combined.
4. Roll level tablespoonfuls of the oat mixture into balls and place, about 5cm apart, on the prepared trays.
Flatten until about 1cm thick. Bake, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 15 minutes or until light
golden. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

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Welcome to Expat Gourmand

I'm a Malaysian-born Chinese Australian currently living in the heart of Hong Kong with the hubby, our big boy, big girl and baby girl. I have lived in Australia, Japan (where big boy was born) and Hong Kong (where the girls were born), and I have an obsession with food - hence the name Expat Gourmand. I love cooking AND eating, and am constantly on the lookout for new recipes to try out and great places to eat at. My journal is about my encounters with food - full of recipes I've tried and reviews of restaurants I've eaten at - as well as miscellaneous entries on travelling and life in general.